Envious
by downpours
Summary: RomanceHumor. NejiTenten. Tenten is envious of a few things, and she's annoyed that Neji just can't figure it out.


**Title:** Envious  
**Series:** Naruto  
**Pairing:** Neji/Tenten, Naruto/Hinata  
**Rating:** K+  
**Notes:** Humour/Romance. Tenten is envious of a few things, and she's annoyed that Neji just can't figure it out.

After all these years, Hinata still blushed profusely every time Naruto spoke to her. She was getting better at this, though. Hinata had realized that she could no longer depend on Kiba and Shino to always be there to catch her when she fainted. And so, she tried her best _not_ to faint. Naruto, being the oblivious fool that he was, never noticed why she always acted so strange. The way Hinata stumbled on her words when she talked to Naruto was really adorable, and Naruto really was a very friendly person to her. He probably wasn't conscious of it, but his tone of voice was always softer every time he would talk to her.

This particular day, he was over at the Hyuuga household because Sakura wanted him to give a package to Hinata. Right when he handed it to her, she tried her very best to start a conversation. Naruto had stared at her in a very curious manner until Lee decided to butt in and start the conversation himself. He talked about the current missions that Naruto had been doing, then he asked Hinata for her oppinion. Before they knew it, Naruto and Hinata were side by side, talking about what they were currently up to. Lee walked away with a "I just gave life to youth's fiery love!" look on his face, and went over to Tenten and Neji, who were eating some shaved ice in a nearby open room. The three of them did this a lot after missions, especially when Lee and Tenten found out that the Hyuuga household had a lot of free snacks. As scary as Neji could be, he just couldn't refuse for some reason.

Tenten played with the spoon in her hand for a while as she looked on at Hinata and Naruto. The two of them looked so adorable together. Sure, Naruto probably didn't have a clue about Hinata's feelings, but at least he always talked to Hinata like she meant something to him. Unlike somebody...

"What?" Neji asked, addressing the glare that Tenten was giving him.

"Hmph." Tenten stuck her tongue out at him and looked away quickly, back to Naruto and Hinata. Neji and Lee exchanged very confused looks.

It went on like this, until Naruto said he had to go. Hinata led him to the gate and bid him goodbye, and then she went back in to the household. The three members of Team Gai were done with their shaved ice, and Lee was doing some push-ups, much to Neji's annoyance. He hated it when Lee was being noisy, but he said nothing. Also, he was a bit curious as to why Tenten wouldn't speak to him.

"Thank you, Lee-san." Hinata said shyly with a red face as she passed him by.

"It was nothing!" Lee said loudly. "Very good, Hinata! You're improving!"

Hinata gave a soft chuckle as she made her way inside the house. It was then that Lee decided it was getting late, and he loudly announced that he was heading home. Tenten agreed to this, but as their tradition had it, it was Neji who had the job of walking her home. Not that she needed the guidance, but Gai-sensei had made a big deal out of it when they were much younger. "Young girls should never walk alone in the dark!", and he forced Neji to do it. Ever since, it just became a habit. Neji and Tenten went seperate ways from Lee, and they walked in silence.

Neji was always silent. Tenten was not. And so, he looked at her from the corner of his eye, wondering just what was wrong. After a few minutes of silence, even Hyuuga Neji was starting to get nervous. What did he do _this_ time? Tenten looked extremely agitated, as if she wanted to smack him on the head. It was only a matter of waiting, until...

"How come you can't treat me that way!?" Tenten suddenly blurted out. She stopped in her tracks, and he did too. Not that he had any choice.

He raised an eyebrow at her in reply.

"The way Naruto treats Hinata-chan!" She explained with animated hand gestures. "He's so nice to her about her feelings!"

"He doesn't even know about her feelings." Neji countered. A light tint of red crept up her cheeks - he had known about her feelings for some time now, since Gai-sensei got her drunk and Neji had to carry her home. She had blurted it out, and miraciously, remembered it the next day. 

"I wasn't aware that you remembered. Good job on not bringing it up for my embarassment. You lose that one for bringing it up now, though." Tenten muttered. Neji smirked in amusement, and she continuted. She wasn't going to lose, after all. "That's besides the point, so shut up about that. Naruto... he's... nice to her, period! He listens to her!"

"I listen to you all the time." The prodigy said in reply. This kept Tenten silent for a while. Actually, he did nothing but listen. _All_ the time.

"Well, it would be nice if you spoke up too, you know." Tenten said with a frown.

Neji kept silent for a while. Then, he opened his mouth, "You want me to be like _Naruto_?" He asked dryly.

They stood there in silence for a while, and Tenten suddenly burst out laughing. The image of Neji in bright orange jumpsuits, yelling, running, and everything else goofy which was all Naruto did was just too much for her. After a few seconds of uncontrollable laughter, she slowly calmed down and looked up at him. He was in the same state as he was before she started her fit of laughter, and she stared down at her with a blank expression. She said, "Good point."

He shrugged and started walking again, and they did so, in silence. She was still trying her best not to burst out laughing, and he knew that. Neji Hyuuga didn't have to be a genius to figure out why she kept making 'pfft' sounds with her lips. He just ignored it for the sake of his sanity.

The prodigy never imagined that Tenten would actually be envious of what Naruto did for his cousin. But, in all equality, he never did pay much attention to Tenten. But it wasn't because he liked her any less, but only because it was just his nature to stay quiet. Maybe it was his fault, after all, that Tenten was starting to get restless. He contemplated about it for a few moments, trying to figure it out. Neji Hyuuga was a genius, he could figure this simple problem out. Girls were a simple problem, right? Well, no. Most specifically, Tenten was _not_ a simple problem.

But, Neji knew how to not to keep her angry at him for too long. He was a genius, after all.

A few blocks away from her house, he turned around and held out his hand. Tenten looked up at him, questioningly, and he just stay still. Smiling, she understood, and took his warm hand in hers.

It wasn't much, but Tenten was aware that he was trying. Neji Hyuuga showed affection in the smallest ways, like when he would always step in front of her in the midst of the battle. Or when Tenten pretended to be asleep because she didn't want to train any more, and Neji would tell Lee to quit being so damn noisy.

"How come you never told me you were envious?" Neji muttered.

She gave him a huge smile. "It was a secret."

**End.**


End file.
